One of football’s top rivalries got a little spicier Friday when New England reached agreement with former New York Jets tight end Chris Baker.

Earlier this month, the Jets released Baker rather than pay him the $9 million option bonus payment that was due to him in early March. At the time, the 29-year-old Baker said he was open to re-signing with the Jets and would like to return. But when New England called, and Baker heard the Patriots’ offer, he liked that idea better.

New England believes it is getting a player who had a career-high 41 catches in 2007, more than the player who caught only 21 passes for 194 yards and no touchdowns last season, when Baker lost some of his playing time to rookie first-round pick Dustin Keller.

Now, another player in a long line of them — Curtis Martin, Ty Law, Vinny Testaverde to name a few — has changed teams in this heated rivalry. Baker is going to be a Patriot.

And as one Jets fan just texted me when he heard the news, “Whenever Pats pick up a former Jet, I get a pit in my stomach.”

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